Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
I could have worked for the post office. In fact, I think a lot of us horse people and farmers could have. We certainly would have gotten better pay and benefits.
I joke about it, but if you think about that old dating about the post office delivering the mail no matter the conditions, you realize that's pretty in line with what we do.
It's single digit temperatures today with a wind-chill below zero. Staying in bed under the blankets sounds wonderful when faced with conditions like this but you know where I am? If you guess shoveling frozen chunks of fun out of the horses stalls then you're correct! All the critters have all the layers and extra food they could wish for, their ice has been broken and removed from their waters multiple times this morning, and the sun is shining! (In fact, there are even some bird singing)
I laugh to myself watching the weather reports and seeing people I know (who have nice cozy inside jobs) talking about how it's cold enough to be dangerous outside. I think if I didn't laugh I might cry, because goodness, I hate being cold. No matter what everyone says though, there's a responsibility to go outside and take care of the animals. Animals don't stop needing care just because it's cold, in fact they need extra care in this weather.
So I bundle up, wearing so many layers you'd never be able to determine where I am underneath them all. I walk carefully because there's still so many slippery spots. I remind myself how much I love the squeaky crunch of snow under foot that only comes when we drop below a certain temperature. I keep as much of my skin covered as possible, ignoring the fact that my scarf and eyelashes are getting little icicles from me breathing. I smile to myself thinking about how I feel like an abominable snowman and how if I happen to slip, bumbles bounce!
So while I'm cut out for the job of postman, here I am noodling around with the critters in the cold.
And hey, it's not so bad in the sun 😉